The racing is underway for the 2014 Dunwoody Wildcats, with our first two races of the season and just about everyone on the team having one race under their belt. This allows our runners to see how their preseason work has held up, and set goals for the remainder of the season.

Last Week:

On Tuesday, most of the Wildcats got their first race of the season in at our first DeKalb County Meet at Druid Hills MS. Despite a last minute course change, the Wildcats came away with some great times and great experience for the rest of the season. For their performances on Tuesday, Cassidy Drew and Jason Hughes earned the first coveted "Tote Tubes" of the season, and 8th grader Ben Bass earned Coach Eliot's coveted "Hot Wheels" award! Race results for all participants are attached here.

On Saturday, the Varsity teams headed up to Coach Charlotte's alma mater, Berry College, to run in the Clara Bowl Invitational. The girls team showed some of the top teams in Georgia that they will be a force to be reckoned with in 2014, finishing 2nd out of 35 teams, our highest finish ever at the Clara Bowl. The Wildcats were led by Ansley Heavern, who finished 7th with a great race strategy and finish. She was followed closely by Kelly May Sheehan (22nd), Samantha Cameron (29th), and Ellie Conoley (40th), who all earned coveted Clara Bowl t-shirts for their performances. From 1-15, all of the girls had a great race and their hard work in the preseason is starting to pay off. The boys then toed the line and finished in 18th place out of 37 teams in a very competitive field. They were led by Blake Tiede and Cadmiel Velazquez, each turning in top 100 finishes. The surprise of the day was the great performance by Gerardo Romero, who was the third finisher for the boys. Great performances by all in our first invitational of the year! Full race results can be found here.

This Week:

It is another busy week for the Wildcats as the season is in full swing!

1. We will NOT have practice this coming Monday, but athletes are expected to get a distance run in on their own.

2. On Tuesday, we will have our annual Chick-Fil-A Spirit NIght from 6-8 PM at the Chick-Fil-A Perimeter Pointe (Mt. Vernon location). Please plan to have your family eat dinner there on Tuesday, as DHS cross country will receive a portion of sales during these hours. This is a great fundraiser for our team and a great annual tradition. We will also have a chicken nugget eating contest and milkshake drinking contest! Hope to see lots of you there!

3. Saturday is the Coach Benson Double Dip Invitational at The Marist School. All of our athletes will be participating in this meet, and the race lineups will be announced in the middle of the week. There will be no bus for this meet so athletes will need to secure their own transportation to this nearby meet. Parking will be limited, so please consider carpooling. We hope to see a lot of Wildcat Pride at our closest location for an invitational this season!

4. For those athletes that have been given an invitation to attend the Furman XC Classic overnight trip, please make sure you make your payments this week and let Coach Boucher whether you are able to attend or not, so we can move people up from our wait list if need be.

Thanks for your support and a great first week of racing! Let's build on our early successes and keep improving!

Another warm week of practice and our annual Place Race is in the books, and the Wildcats are ready to get competitive this week, with our first two races of the season. First up is our first DeKalb County Meet of the season on Tuesday at Druid Hills Middle School, followed by the Clara Bowl Invitational at Berry College this Saturday.

1. Attached is the race roster for this week. Those that will be racing on Saturday will not race in the County meet on Tuesday. On Tuesday, many of our returning runners will participate in the 3 mile race at 5:15 PM, while some of our newer runners and 8th runners will participate in the 2 mile race at 5:45 PM. We hope to see lots of support for our team on Tuesday!

2. For those running in the Clara Bowl Invitational on Saturday, we will have more information later in the week on departure and race times.

3. It is a requirement that all members of the team have a uniform of their own for races throughout the season. If you do not yet have a uniform, you can wear your 2014 team shirt for Tuesday's meet, but this will not be acceptable at many of our meets throughout the season, and could result in your athlete not being able to race in future meets. Uniforms have not changed from last season, so if you already have one, you're all set. For all uniform and spirit wear questions, please contact Suzie Martin at suziemartin@comcast.net

4. Our annual Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night will be Tuesday, September 2nd at the Mount Vernon location from 6-8 PM. Please make your dinner plans around this fun event and tell your friends, as DHS XC will receive a portion of sales during these hours. We will also have a Nugget Eating Contest and Milkshake Drinking Contest!

Week One of the DHS 2014 XC season saw a lot of new faces, familiar workouts, and a great foundation for another successful season! We will have a team size that will rival our largest ever, and we are looking forward to all of the improvements that we'll see over the season with hard work and commitment to the team.

A few updates from the coaching staff:

1. We still have a few more weeks of hot and humid weather ahead of us, so please make sure that you have a filled water bottle for every practice. We simply cannot have you practice if you do not have a water bottle at practice. We have water available at practice, but do not want to bring cups every day.

2. Congratulations to our 2014 XC Captains! For the boys team, our Captains will be Blake Tiede and Cadmiel Velazquez. For the girls team, our Captains will be Emily Cyr and Alyssa Farnell. This is always a difficult decision, and we are lucky to have another great group of Seniors, which will have the opportunity for leadership opportunities throughout the season.

3. We had several great performances throughout our first week of practice, with some members earning coveted "MVP" honors at the end of the week. Some of those honored were our girls Varsity squad for their great teamwork during a tough workout on Wednesday, Liam Eastham for his effort throughout the week, Addison Duke and Erin McDuffie for their encouragement of others in practice, and Ian Kelley for helping with the 8th graders and attendance even though he was unable to run. Be on the lookout for the return of Runner of the Week shirts soon!

4. We will have a regular week of practice this week, with our first meet of the season scheduled for Tuesday, August 26th at Druid Hills Middle School. Most of the team will race in this meet, and more information regarding this meet will follow next weekend. Additionally, information and the roster for the Clara Bowl Invitational on Saturday, August 30th will be included. We will take approximately the Top-10 boys and girls to this meet.

5. Thank you for all those who attended our XC Booster Club meeting on Wednesday night, we hope you found it informative. If you missed the meeting or still need to submit forms, please contact Kevin Cameron, our Booster Club President. Thank you to all of our parents for helping with spirit wear, uniforms, and registration!

There will be a parent meeting Wednesday, August 13th at 6:30pm in the DHS Cafeteria. All parents and athletes should plan to attend.

XC Dues for 2014 will remain at $100 for the first runner in each family and $75 for each additional runner. To save time at the meeting, pay your XC Dues online at the DHS XC website. Click on the "Payments" button on the top.

Whether you pay online or not, print out the membership form from the forms page and have it filled out before the meeting -- saves time!!!

If you are looking to purchase a uniform or spirit wear, plan on arriving early to make your purchases.

If you want to help out tomorrow night, Suzie Martin can use some help at the spirit wear table.

Welcome to the 2014 Dunwoody HS Cross Country Season! We are excited for another great year of running in the "Year of the Wildcat." Here are a few reminders for the start of the season:

1. Our first official practice is Monday, August 11th at 3:30, ending at approximately 5:15. The practice schedule will remain the same as years past, with afternoon practice from Monday to Thursday, 3:30 - 5:15, with morning practice from 6 - 7 am on Fridays. Please make sure your athlete has a ride home from practice every day.

2. In order for your athlete to participate in cross country, they must have the following:a. A valid physical (valid for 1 year from date of physical). Physicals must be on the following form, which is also on the DeKalb, Dunwoody, and Dunwoody cross country website. http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/athletics/physical-form.pdfb. Please note that ALL parts of the physical form (including a copy of insurance, emergency information, and athletic participation consent) MUST be completed or your athlete will be sent home. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS!c. A reusable water bottle that they can bring to practice every day.d. A good pair of running shoes.

3. Our parent booster club meeting will be Wednesday, August 13th at 6:30 pm in the cafeteria. Please be sure to attend for this very important meeting for season information, varsity lettering information, volunteer opportunities, and spirit wear purchases.

4. For those inquiring about our cross country meet schedule, it is currently posted on the website, so please consult for any meet information.

5. We will have a table set up at registration on Thursday in case you have any questions about the season or want to submit physicals.

All parents and runners should plan on attending the 2014 Dunwoody XC Parent Meeting on Wednesday, August 13th at 630pm in the Dunwoody HS Cafeteria. Meet the Coaches, Learn about the season, Buy Spiritwear and Much, Much More.